Pesto Chicken Meatballs

Using just a few simple ingredients, this Pesto Chicken Meatball recipe will result in a savory, delicious dinner even the pickiest eaters will love. Serve with pasta or polenta for a hearty dinner.

Meatballs are one of those meals I make when I feel like I haven't gotten my kids to eat a decent dinner in a while. This recipe is protein-packed, and when you make pesto with spinach in it, that's a hidden veggie added to the mix that nobody even notices! Chicken Pesto Meatballs is a win-win because they love them, and I love it when I'm able to get my kids to eat a healthy meal, which of course, with kids can be hit or miss.

This easy recipe combines ground chicken and pesto and can be either baked for hands-off cooking or pan-seared on the stove.

In our house, we love to serve meatballs with non-pasta sides like quick-cooking cheesy polenta or cucumber salad, but these Pesto Chicken Meatballs of course go really well with pasta too.

So let's get to making it! The text below offers some tips for making it, or you can scroll down to the bottom for the complete recipe.

Ingredients and Substitutions

Here is a brief overview of the ingredients needed for this recipe. The full recipe with quantities is listed below this text in the recipe card. If substitutions are available for this recipe, they'll be listed here. If you don't see a substitution you are looking for, please leave a comment below.

• ground chicken (let me put in a plug here for using a mix of white and dark meat so you don't end up with dry meatballs
• pesto (store-bought or homemade!)
• eggs
• unseasoned panko bread crumbs
• kosher salt

Useful Tools for Making Quick Work of Meatballs

Here are the tools used in this recipe. You won’t necessarily choose to use them all, but sometimes tools make for quicker work in the kitchen! Some of these links may contain affiliate links.

• mixing bowl
• rimmed sheet pan
• cookie / portioning scoop (this makes forming the meatballs super quick)
• your hands (ok, this is kind of a joke but seriously using your hands to mix the meatball mixture is truly the most efficient way of doing it)
• instant-read thermometer (always useful when checking the temperature of meat)

Cooking Pesto Chicken Meatballs

You can either pan-sear or bake these meatballs.

To pan-sear them, cook them over medium-low heat with just a little bit of oil. Unlike traditional beef meatballs, the goal is not to create the Maillard effect on the meat and create a crust, but simply to cook the meatballs through. This is because chicken can easily overcook and because pesto has a delicate flavor that doesn't stand up well to pan-searing.

Baking meatballs are a quick and hands-off way to get a batch cooked off. The directions for this recipe call for baking them in a high-temperature oven for about 12-16 minutes, flipping halfway through.

However, this timing is based on making somewhat bite-sized meatballs made from about 2 tablespoons of meat. You can make them any size you want, but the time needed to cook them will increase or decrease depending on if you make them bigger or smaller.

Also, using a scoop is the easiest way to portion out meatballs as mentioned above. Sometimes when I’m feeling really in a rush I don’t even roll them in a ball, but instead, scoop out the mixture and put it directly on the baking sheet. Nobody cares if the meatballs aren’t perfectly round.

Making a Quick Sauce

These meatballs are really delicious on their own, but it's also easy to use additional pesto and some heavy cream to make a quick pan sauce.

Gently heat together additional pesto with some heavy cream. When pan-searing them, it can be done all together in the same skillet.

Storing, Freezing, and Reheating

Store leftover meatballs in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. They reheat really well and make great leftovers.

Meatballs are freezer champs. These Chicken Pesto Meatballs freeze well for about 3 months. To freeze them, initially lay them on a clean sheet pan with parchment. Once they are completely frozen, transfer them to bags or another long-term storage container. This prevents them from sticking together when freezing.

They should be defrosted overnight in the refrigerator. Then bake in an oven or toaster oven at 350ºF until warmed through. They likely can be reheated in the microwave but I haven't tried that.

More Meatball Recipes

• Chicken Parm Meatball Bake
• Italian Turkey Meatballs

Making the recipe? Be sure to leave a comment with a star review on your experience! Have a question? Leave a comment below and I’ll get back to you as quickly as I can!

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